The Support Ate it All

Crackle, crackle!

“Damn it… Ah!”

With each spark, the masked man twisted in pain.

His entire body was tightly bound by wires carrying electric current.

With even the slightest movement causing an electric shock, his only option was to be meekly dragged along.

“Really unfair… Ah! Damn. What’s with the first-year students this year?”

“……”

Song Cheon-hye did not respond to the masked man’s question but silently infused mana into the wire.

The wire would continue to paralyze its target until its energy was depleted.

Having completely subdued her opponent, all she had to do now was drag this thief… her senior, to the disciplinary room according to the manual.

But then,

Boom, boom, boom!

“Hiic.”

A tremendous noise startled Song Cheon-hye.

She hiccupped involuntarily, but fortunately for her, the thief club senior was too busy wrestling with the wire to notice her reaction.

Song Cheon-hye calmed her startled heart and estimated the distance between the source of the noise and her current location.

Even though it was quite a distance away, the fact that the sound was so clearly audible suggested it was no ordinary occurrence.

I need to go check it out.

Song Cheon-hye injected more mana into the wire.

She was somewhat concerned about leaving the guy behind, but checking out the source of the noise was more pressing at the moment.

She could always return soon to retrieve him.

Song Cheon-hye launched herself off the ground before casting a spell.

Electricity surged through her legs, transforming her into a streak of lightning as she sped off.

The moment she arrived at the source of the loud noise,

“Ugh…!”

Song Cheon-hye felt her breath catch in her throat from the intense heat.

Surveying the area, she saw a thick triple-layered stone wall with a huge hole in it while the remaining debris melted away like butter.

And little distance away, she spotted Kwak Seung-jae lying unconscious.

“Senior!”

Song Cheon-hye rushed to Kwak Seung-jae and then quickly checked his condition.

Since he was stuck by a blow that left such trembling aftereffects, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had died instantly.

Even if he hadn’t died, there was a high chance that parts of his body were severely burned or his internal organs turned to mush.

But,

“……?”

Strangely, Kwak Seung-jae seemed to be unharmed.

He had only minor burns, some scrapes from rolling on the ground, and a slightly twisted mana circuit.

Just a few days of rest would be enough for his recovery.

Such minor injuries didn’t match the level of destruction in this place at all.

“Song Cheon-hye!”

A second-year student from the disciplinary committee landed nearby.

His reaction was similar.

He grimaced at the wave of heat hitting his face upon arrival, hastily checked Kwak Seung-jae’s condition, and was puzzled to find him relatively unharmed.

He asked Song Cheon-hye,

“What on earth happened here?”

“I’m not sure. I just arrived myself.”

“…Let’s head back for now.”

Though Kwak Seung-jae was unconscious, he wasn’t seriously injured.

Considering the possibility of the assailant returning, it seemed wiser to discuss further in a safer location.

The second-year student lifted Kwak Seung-jae and carried him on his back.

***

I rotated my wrists, each in turn.

The hand that had cast [Inferno Fist] was not only free from burns but it also lacked even the slightest burn mark.

This was clear evidence that I had completely nullified the elemental penalty.

However, there remained a slight tingling sensation as if my fist was burning from the inside.

I continued to relax my fists and walked towards the dormitory.

That was quite the effort this time.

It was all due to the need to control my strength.

If I had struck with maximum firepower, Kwak Seung-jae probably wouldn’t have even left a corpse behind.

Even a moderate output would have blown off a limb.

It was indeed a struggle to adjust my strength precisely enough to render him just incapable of fighting, not more, not less.

I wonder if Kwak Seung-jae would appreciate the effort I put into controlling my power when he wakes up.

The advantage of such meticulous control was that it didn’t escalate the situation.

Breaking into the temporary storage with the thieves’ club and stealing prohibited items.

Even if the punishment were severe, it would only go as far as demerit points and disciplinary action.

Of course, it wasn’t a minor incident so I would receive quite a few demerit points and face a high level of disciplinary action, perhaps being assigned some unpleasant tasks. But that would have been the extent of the punishment.

However, had I inflicted serious injury on Kwak Seung-jae or worse, killed him, the situation would have escalated beyond a mere student affair. It would have become an adult matter.

Cases escalated to the faculty line were treated much more seriously, and the punishment was also more severe.

When seeking to gain something by breaking the rules at Dragon Slayer Academy, one must always be careful not to cross this line and avoid any chance for the staff to intervene.

I doubt the disciplinary committee will just let this go.

The incident didn’t escalate but it wasn’t over either.

There were lots of prohibited items stored in the Cube of Life, and the Inferno Fist itself was a prohibited skill.

Moreover, by defeating Kwak Seung-jae, I had incurred the wrath of both the Emerald Magic Tower and the disciplinary committee who would undoubtedly try to uncover my identity.

They would do this in the name of justice and also to save their own reputation.

But they won’t find me.

I had left a few clues, but they were far from sufficient to identify me.

The only slight chance they had was if Dang Gyu-young spoke up but I doubted that would happen.

After all, Dang Gyu-young was the president of the thieves club.

***

In the disciplinary committee, the room of truth.

The president of the club Oh Se-hoon displayed a gentle smile as always.

Opposite to him sat Dang Gyu-young as she slouched casually.

Her face was smeared with dirt and dust due to the aftermath of the fierce battle. And her normally neat, straight hair was now unkempt and disheveled.

This was a stark contrast with Song Cheon-gi’s immaculate appearance with not a single spot of dirt on his clothes. (TN: this Song Cheon-gi is the student council president.)

Her whole appearance screamed “I lost the fight”, but the expression on her face conveyed a different message:

– Yeah, I lost, so what?

“…….”

Song Cheon-gi frowned and turned away as if he was displeased by this sight.

Having subdued Dang Gyu-young and handed her over, his role here was done.

Whatever happened next was up to Oh Se-hoon.

“I’m leaving.”

“Why don’t you sit and rest for a bit? You’ve worked hard.”

“I have a mountain of paperwork to deal with. And thanks to these guys, it’s only gotten bigger.”

Song Cheon-gi grumbled as he resigned himself to a night without sleep.

The members of the disciplinary committee watched Song Cheon-gi’s departing figure with curious eyes.

The student council had always maintained a neutral stance, never interfering in the disputes of other groups.

But tonight, the student council president himself unexpectedly helped them, so they couldn’t help but be curious for the reason.

Does the president know? They all looked inquisitively at Oh Se-hoon, but he simply smiled and shook his head.

If I tell you, I’ll be in big trouble.

He feared that the moment he spoke the truth, Song Cheon-gi might burst through the door.

It was better for everyone if certain things remained unspoken.

Anyway, Song Cheon-gi had left, and the cleanup was now Oh Se-hoon’s responsibility.

It meant dealing with the situation at hand.

“Uuuaam—”

Dang Gyu-young yawned lazily.

As she sank deeper into the chair, her head settled where her shoulders should have been.

In that position, Dang Gyu-young asked,

“How long are you going to hold me here? Just give me the demerit points and let me go.”

She spoke as if she already knew how the conversation would unfold.

And this wasn’t surprising, considering she had been coming and going from this “room of truth” for over two years now.

Having faced Oh Se-hoon countless times, their exchanges had become predictably routine.

Oh Se-hoon recited his usual lines.

“If you cooperate well, this will be over quickly. Shall we start with this?”

Dang Gyu-young received the documents and began flipping through them.

Items were listed over several pages.

They were a comparison of the inventory records before and after the breach of the temporary storage.

What was listed in the documents were the discrepancies in the ledger.

More precisely, the items that were now stored in the “Cube of Life”.

A few unfamiliar items caught her eye.

Probably those the bold junior had claimed as his share.

She started wondering why he took both [Inferno Fist] and the [Heart of Thunder], but it wasn’t important right now.

Dang Gyu-young feigned ignorance and retorted.

“What’s this about?”

“Gyu-young, let’s not waste time. You know what this is.”

“No? This is the first time I’m seeing it.”

“Pretending ignorance will just make things more tiring for both of us.”

“Yeah, like I care~”

Her brazen attitude wasn’t new.

The thieves club. Once they had taken something, they rarely ever gave it back.

Especially today, since they had taken a particularly big bite, they were determined not to let go.

Whenever Gyu-young brazenly confronted him in such shameless way, Oh Se-hoon had a set response.

“Gyu-young, I can’t let this slide this time. I don’t know how you did it, but many items have gone missing. You all have to take full responsibility for the shortfall.”

“What happens if we take full responsibility?”

He started to tally up all the school rules they had broken today…

And added to that the missing items…

“3% demerit points, a cut in the club’s budget, two weeks of cleaning the underground sewers and clearing out the monsters inside, one week of building maintenance work and the seniors will have to take on two external requests.”

“…That’s a hell of a lot. So, you’re about to make an offer, right?”

She knew that showing the carrot after the stick was the next step for this guy.

Oh Se-hoon continued speaking with a bitter smile.

“If you come clean and return all the items, I’ll reduce it to 1% demerit points and only three days of sewer cleaning. And nothing else.”

It was an unconventional offer.

Such a significant reduction was a bit beyond the authority of the disciplinary committee president, but Oh Se-hoon had the capability to make it happen.

However, he already anticipated the kind of response he would receive.

Though he always made offers, he could count on one hand the amount of times they were accepted.

As expected, Dang Gyu-young chose the first option without much hesitation.

“I’ll just take the punishment for three weeks, whatever.”

“I knew you would say that.”

Sure enough, Dang Gyu-young had no real hesitation in choosing to face the consequences.

The prohibited items entrusted to Kim Ho were all of high value.

Considering the immense profit they could make by selling them, this level of punishment was bearable.

Dang Gyu-young got up from her seat and asked.

“Is that it?”

“Yes, the punishment starts tomorrow. Let the others know in advance.”

“Alright. I’m off.”

“Go and rest.”

As Dang Gyu-young left the room of truth, five members of the thieves’ club who had been crouching in a corner crowded around her.

“Noonim, is it over?”

“How many weeks of punishment?”

“What about the demerit points?”

“There’s no external request, right?”

…Wait, it’s only the five of them?

There were supposed to be seven participants in this operation including Dang Gyu-young.

One member was missing.

When she checked the members of the club she discovered that the absent one was Kim Ho.

She had assumed at first that everyone was caught, but it seemed that junior had managed to escape the pursuit and flee.

But how?

It was possible to shake off other disciplinary members with some luck, but evading Kwak Seung-jae’s attention was extremely difficult.

And then she noticed that Kwak Seung-jae himself was nowhere to be seen.

Dang Gyu-young stopped a passing disciplinary member to ask him.

“Hey, where did Seung-jae go?”

“To the infirmary.”

“…The infirmary?”

The expression of the disciplinary member changed subtly.

It was almost as if they were asking why Dang Gyu-young didn’t know.

“He got taken down by someone from your side, didn’t you know?”

“……!”

“But who is that?”

He actually didn’t resort to some clever trickery; he confronted Kwak Seung-jae and defeated him head-on before he calmly made his escape.

This was impressive in its own right.

A freshman, not even a week into school, had taken down a second-year disciplinary committee member?

Dang Gyu-young chuckled.

“Haha…”

Boy, you’re quite capable.